Love and Hate
by Sheen-chan
Summary: Mika has finally reunited with Raizo only to be taken away again. Will the threat of the Stone Fox keep them apart, or will Mika and Raizo triumph? PS. This one is a lemon. Disclaimer, these characters are not mine. Otherwise, we'd be on our 30th Ninja Assassin movie. Comment and let me know that you're still reading this.
1. Chapter 1

Mika's eyes slowly opened beneath the harsh glow of the Fluorescent lighting in the towers medical center. Mika knew this place well for someone who had not been in any skirmishes involving her work for Raizo. However, when she coordinated jobs, she made every ninja perform a physical to make sure they were capable of surviving their next assignment. The grumbles she received from the more old-school ninja often made her inwardly laugh. Their view of retirement involved death and not waking up There were many days and nights where she had been here to get reports from various warriors when the "buyers" had been a little harder to "sell" to than normal. Never in a million years had she thought she would be here for herself; much less stabbed and on the brink of death. Wonders never seemed to cease her at the Black Sand Tower.

The slight rustle of silk caused Mika to turn her head towards the far right corner of the boxy utilitarian room. Asami was quietly working on looked to be needlepoint, her small hands quickly dancing over the fabric in a way that Mika personally would probably not have the patience to complete. The near lotus slowly lifted herself from the table into a sitting position and took a deep breath. Brown arms wrapping around her middle as the activities of the last eight hours caught up with her. She had been poisoned by a ninja from the Stone Fox clan, whose head she had presented to Raizo. She had her Lotus name, but she had not completed the test. There was a seduction that was supposed to take place, but the injuries she had sustained fighting the shades robbed her of being able to enjoy Raizo's touch.

Mika frowned and swung her robed legs over the over the hospital bed. She had a seduction to complete and not a lot of time to complete it. Knowing Raizo, he was probably maiming someone at this very moment. He had done more for far less, and a slight smile at the memory of a failed kidnapping over four years ago tugged at her lips. So in the interest of saving lives and saving time, it made sense for her to take the initiative and locate, Raizo. Well, in her head it made sense. Her feet touched the floor and her body buckled under the pain, causing her to catch the bed just in time to keep from falling into an ungraceful heap upon the floor. She pulled in deep breaths trying to steady her head and nerves to make the trip upstairs. A soft tsk'ing sound was made over her shoulder, and dark brown eyes closed as she knew the irritation that was coming. "Venerable Asami, how are you this late evening?"

"Me? I'm grand thank you. What exactly do you call yourself doing? Because though I would call getting out of bed after fighting and being drugged a mistake. I'm sure Westerners have other names for such impossibly ridiculous notions." Asami's calm voice made Mika grit her teeth with the effort to stay polite. She was still smarting from the last conversation they had, and the pain was making her feel petty.

Mika tried to smile, but she doubted the action showed in her eyes. She was not in the mood to be stopped at finishing her task. "Nothing Blood Lotus, I'm simply going to see Raizo. We have some unfinished business to take care of…"

"Or you could stay in bed like someone with more than five ounces of sense." The tart message was delivered in regularly Asami fashion. Bluntly and with a large dollop of disdain that an empress would have for a dirty commoner that had graced her pristine marble floors. Mika was doing her best to ignore the pain and the chaise lounge that Asami lounged in. Mika was very sure that the piece of furniture had not been there when she had been brought in.

"I have to finish the test." Mika responded flatly. Along with the other events of the evening she hadn't forgotten what had transpired before she had been drugged and stabbed. Not to mention that she was robbed of a whole night of Raizo, not that she was bitter at all.

"My, being stabbed makes you waspish. Why do you feel the need to finish the test right now?" Asami continued to fuss with her needlepoint, not bothering to look up at Mika. The action and the question made Mika suck her teeth. She was in a lot of pain, and the very least Asami could do was look her in the eye when she was being delicately rude. Not continue to work on what appeared to be a funeral shroud.

"If I don't complete the test then I can't be a lotus. And while I'm sure you're fine with that. I'm not." The words were low and grim as they whispered more to herself then Asami. She refused to let the last three years of her life be in vain. She grits her teeth once more and pulled herself up to her feet. With a deep breath, she turned towards the door and mentally calculated the distance between her bed and the door. She didn't want to think about the distance to the door to her suite. Luckily there was a private elevator from the medical center to her office. Courtesy of Raizo being afraid of her getting so much as a paper cut. If Raizo knew what was good for him, he would be waiting for her in her suite with very little if anything on.

"You do understand that the last part is a formality? Raizo would give you the title of lotus just because you asked." Asami rolled her eyes as if asking for strength and continued making small stitches in the deep red of the fabric within her hands.

Mika saw red for one blinding moment and took a determined step towards the door. "I'll see myself out."

Asami who was not at all appreciating not being instantly obeyed rose from her lounging position on her sofa. "Mika don't be ridiculous. You are in no physical condition to make it to the door, much less upstairs to your room back in bed this instant!"

"Would you tell Mai to back into bed if she had not completed the test?" Mika didn't look back at Asami. When there was no response, she knew she had no choice but to go up that elevator. The first step to the door had been excruciating, and she didn't have the time or energy to argue with the lotus matriarch over something so easily remedied. Another step was taken, but she was expecting the pain so it wasn't as bad as the first time.

Asami's head tilted to the side and watched Mika gingerly make her way towards the door. "Honestly Mika, I don't understand what more you want. You have had the privilege of training as a Lotus, killing as a Lotus, and even receiving a Lotus name. What more is sleeping with Raizo going to accomplish?"

"It's not about sleeping with Raizo!" Mika snapped and whirled around to look the elder Lotus in her eyes. She was sure that she had popped some stitches in doing so, but she didn't care. She would get up those stairs or die to try. "This has never been about sleeping with Raizo. I could have done that, and stayed in the safety of Berlin! It's about being able to survive by Raizo's side! It's about being his equal in all things. We cannot coexist without being evenly yoked. It's about proving to him and myself that I not only belong to him but that I belong here with him as well!"

Asami looked as if she was at the end of her own tether. Ruby lips pursed, and her eye lifted to the heavens once more hoping the Kami would release her from this whole moment. "Waiting a few days will not hinder any of that"

Another step was taken and Mika found that determination was starting to make the movements easier. She could feel her side pulling, but it would be okay, she was almost to the door. "That will be a few days of me being the subpar Lotus you think I…"

The end of her statement was cut off with a decisive slap that jerked Mika back the other direction she had turned. She had not been looking for it, so had no time to defend or brace herself against it. Her head swam for a few moments, but when she pulled herself together, she saw a lotus that was as angry as she was. No, not angry seething. Asami's chest heaved with the effort not to continue hitting her. As if Mika was her wayward child that she couldn't get control of.

"How dare you presume to tell me what I think you are? You have the gall to look me in the eye and whine about not being bed as part of a ritual created to allow Ozouno's to take pleasure from as many Kunoichi as the pleased!" Asami spat at Mika's feet, but Mika had been through too much to flinch. Not that it mattered Asami was not done speaking, and Mika was too stubborn to look away. "Robes, rituals, and ceremonies, don't make me laugh! The first Lotus was a farm girl sold into slavery to Ozouno Tachibana. A country bumpkin, who was fair enough to be used as a weapon, she had no ritual, and she had no robes, and sure as hell had no ceremony. She was taken on the ground in the mountains. Was she any less of a Lotus?"

Asami moved forward and grabbed Mika's chin so that she could level her eye with hers. Mika was sure that the Lotus would leave bruises, but she didn't care. She was numbed by anger and the stirrings of shame that Asami's words brought her. "I chose you because I knew you could not only survive the training but thrive through it. But you and Mai are my greatest work as a Lotus. When you write my story, I will live on as the greatest Lotus this world has known. Who but I could train two Lotus in one generation? Who but I could take a no one and make her a queen fit for an Ozouno?"

She threw Mika's chin to the side and imperiously strode toward the door. "Get back in bed! I will bring Raizo down here if I have to carry him on my back to do so!"

Asami left with a cough into her sleeve, and Mika slowly made her way back to bed. Mika was left with her thoughts as she stared at the ceiling. Raizo was not going to come down there, and she knew that without a doubt. He was too busy investigating the breach and maiming people in her honor. Mika's lips tugged at the corner in what little amusement she felt. Raizo was not one to play with when angered, and the last she saw of him he had been very angry.

Mika allowed her eyes to drift shut and let her breathing slow down and deepen. She had to reach Raizo in a way that he could not escape from. She thought about it for a few minutes and remembered the scroll that she had given Raizo earlier that year. It was the scroll that had been put on the banned list that allowed fighters to fight free of their bodies. She needed to do something drastic to get Raizo's attention, and maybe a little help from a forbidden practice might help. She continued to breathe deeply like the scrolls said until she felt herself detach and a door opened in her head.

There were screams. That was one of the things that she hated about the shadows that the ninja fought in. There was a scream for every ninja that had fallen there. The noise that filled the darkness made Mika's skin crawl, and she did her best to get in and out of there as quickly as possible, but not tonight. Tonight she had a job to do and she would finish it, Raizo's over protectiveness be damned.

She found Raizo arguing with Asami, and it looked as if she was going to have a seizure. Two people arguing with her in one night. Mika was sure that she had never seen such a thing. Her amusement waned however as she focused to pay attention the conversation. Raizo was dressed in the black work uniform of his people, and Asami was pacing back and forth in agitation at being stuck between two impossible people.

Raizo's hands lift placatingly to rest on Asami's slight shoulders. She was going into a coughing fit, and Raizo was doing her best to calm her. "My Lotus, you know that I cannot go down there. We are in the middle of trying to investigate…"

"You have no choice! She is determined to get to you to finish this test. Her stitches will not survive the trip! She wants to get her title, and she is being unreasonable!" Mika mentally snorted at the last of Asami's statement, funny how arguing with her made you the unreasonable party.

Raizo laughed and leaned over to place an affectionate kiss at the top of Asami's head. "If she wants the tile of Lotus that badly, I'll give it to her."

Asami was about to retort then stopped short at Raizo's words. Her head canted, and her lips pursed. Her fighting fan snapped out with a dangerous metallic ring, and Raizo stepped back warily "You know, hearing another person say that out loud, makes it sound ridiculous. You will go prepare yourself to visit my daughter, or I will slice you in two! I have had enough of this discussion. Now go!"

Raizo looked as if he was about to argue, but something in her face must have told him that she was in no mood to play with him. He walked away and Asami took a deep breath as if her patience was at its lowest. Mika took a metaphorical step forward and Asami went very still.

"Who wishes for death, this night?" Another fighting fan appeared from beneath her robe. She turned, and Mika rushed forward to wrap her arms around her shoulders comfortingly. She didn't have a lot of energy, so she couldn't project her voice, but she didn't want Asami to be afraid.

"I see, well if nothing else you are resourceful. I will leave you with it then. Bring him to his knees. I will be guarding your body below. I expect to hear all about it when you get back. Mika, I am most proud of you this night. " Asami covered her lips with her fan and made her way back down the elevator that went straight to the med bay from her suite. Mika took a deep breath and made her way into her room. She was not as experienced as Raizo, so there was a lot in the shadows that she could not do. But she knew that she would finish this task.

Raizo counted to ten as he walked away from Asami. He pulled off his clothing with each step towards the tub that had been filled in anticipation of Mika's return. A frustrated hand pulled dark tresses away his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to be in the medical bay with Mika seeing to everyone one of her needs on a very personal level, but he couldn't afford to. The Stone Fox clan was given something that made them bold, and he was going to make sure it was cut away with surgical precision. The seduction wasn't even necessary. He already belonged to her. She was in the palm of her hand and she didn't even realize it. He would have broken any of Asami's rules to get to her if she had only exerted her will in a fashion that demanded it. He had spent the better part of three years hoping that she would beg him to come to her in the middle of the night. But the letter never came. She was determined to succeed. Though he was proud of her, he was low level grumpy at the missed chance of illicit ninja sex.

He moved into the tepid water allowing it to soak into his golden skin before beginning the task of scrubbing away the blood that coated his arms and legs. The Stone Fox had sentries waiting for their comrade, but Mika's sword had made sure that he would never come. They were captured, and to say that they had been tortured for answers was to say that they survived. Raizo had not been gentle, nor had he been kind. Mika proved that she could take care of herself, but he would make sure that every clan knew that she would be watched and avenged by himself personally. As a member of the clan they would all take care of her, but he would take any action upon his love as a direct insult to himself and would return any action in kind.

He stiffly removed as much of the blood as he could. He would not take Mika with any reminders of what happened earlier this night. Though in truth he would not be physically taking her at all. He would hold her as not to disrupt her stitching, and she would need to make peace with that. He was a monster, but he would not be a selfish one. He would take her when she was better, and the threat of the Stone Fox had ended. He would not rest until Rokuro's head was presented on a golden platter at Mika's dainty feet. Then he would take great pleasure in physically receiving her thanks while Rokuro's lifeless eyes watched them.

On the thought of taking Mika in such a fashion, Raizo groans in frustration and dipped beneath the water. He rose and combed the soaked strands of his hair from his eyes. His whole body was tight with the stress caused by the need of Mika. The mental image of him kissing his way up Mika's body starting at the arch of her feet made him turn the cold water on. Mika was hurt, and he doubted she would be able to do more than heavy petting. Another thing that had Raizo swimming in a sea of rage.

It wasn't that the Stone Fox tried to assassinate Mika. Tactically, it was a sound plan. Strike in plain sight while they were all distracted with the festivities. He would have done the same. It was that they had even dared in the first place. Clearly, Raizo's desire to no be like Ozouno made the other clans feel as if they could harm members of his clan. That his humanity would make him weak. In honesty, he had thought he had personally killed enough of their clan to make them wary of coming at him head on this way. This meant that either Soguro did not know what was happening, or that he thought they were still too weak to wage war on them. He thought to weaken Raizo by tearing his heart out, by killing Mika. Unfortunately, the attack on Mika had the exact opposite effect. They thought he would abandon the clan and take Mika to somewhere safe. What they would get would be the hell that Raizo would rain down on them. He would be exacting revenge now if it were not for Asami's insistence that he attend Mika this very moment.

Raizo pulled himself out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. The air pressure had not changed, but he was no longer alone in the room. He moved to the bed where his kurisagana had been left. Calmly lifting and pulling the chain through his fingers. Dark eyes traveled over the room, and suddenly he felt small hands trail down his arms. A shiver slid down his spine soon followed by a moan as the hands that caressed him slid beneath the towel resting on his hips.

"Mika, I was coming for you." The sound of her name caused the feathery touch of her hands stalls momentarily. Raizo's heart topped as her touch was soon replaced by the trail of her lips instead. It began at his shoulder, and then another was laced on his chest. In fact, each kiss followed the line her hands had made moments ago. Her lips found him beneath the towel he jerked back and stumbled onto the bed, where Mika's ministrations did not end. "Mika, Please return to the medical center at once. You are not strong enough to do this. You may get stuck in Shadow, and I'll have no choice but to follow you there.

The words were murmured, and the ignored by the succubus that slid her lips across his skin. Though his words asked her to abstain, his body tightened like a spring coiled just before release. His arms were pulled above his head because he was halfheartedly trying to stop her from taking advantage of him. He felt her crawl on top of him, and his body was eagerly giving her the permission that he was verbally denying her. He was practically purring at the way her hips spread across his. Her name a soft repetitive murmur over his lips. Every sound a confusion of want and admonishment.

"Mika, I understand that you want to finish the test, but you are injured and strong enough…" Mika's touch instantly stopped. He could feel the sudden fill the room, and he knew that he had made a grave mistake. He would need to pick his words very carefully for the next few moments or risk the wrath of another angry Lotus. He wondered if the other clan leaders had this much trouble with the Lotuses in their lives.

"My love, I just want what is best for you, and…" Suddenly he no longer felt her presence. With a deep sigh and a series of courses, he forced himself into a calm state, and painfully dived through the door that opened in his head.

The world of shadow was not another dimension. It was their world but darker. They had the ability to move and touch things a. The laws of physics did not suddenly change just because it was darker. But it did hold a space that was very dangerous if you stayed too long. All of this was to say that he caught up to Mika just as she reached the door. She was injured, and it made her movements sluggish. In the world of the shadow, it could get her killed or worse yet unable to make it back to her body. A few quick strides had him shutting the door with a decisive snap that made Mika turn around and blindly strike out at him. Her reflexes were very good, but with her being tired he easily caught her arm and hauled her against him and into a deep kiss. The moment his lips touched hers it was like he found the answer to every question his heart had. Her arms lifted to curl into his hair, and he molded himself into him not giving her the chance to move away or even breathe. He wanted his actions to say everything his lips could not.

When he did break the kiss it was only because he needed to look at her. To make sure that everything he was feeling and seeing was real. Her eyes lifted to meet him, and he took a few moments just to marvel at the beauty that was his intended. She was everything that his previous life had been not. Happiness, joy, contentment was all in his arms, and he was afraid that if he looked away even once it would be gone. Mika lifted onto her toes and began running light kisses along his jawline. Her fingers cautiously dancing over his skin as if also making sure that he was real as well. It was as if touching him was a relief that she had been denied for too long. He allowed her to touch if not taste him. The world of shadow did not afford you all of your senses; which was a pity. He loved the way Mika tasted, but it mattered not. They would finish what was started. If she wanted to be a Lotus, then he would make her one.

Long fingers slid into the dark strands of her curly hair. She was pulled into a hard kiss that, at least in his opinion, a necessary punishment for the worry that she had put him through. Her body willingly melted into the harshness of the kiss. Apparently, she was willing to subject herself to any punishment he saw fit to give, and something inside of Raizo was deeply satisfied at the small act of submission. Raizo slowly walked her back against the door and pulled her legs up around his waist. His mouth and the palms of his hands set about in earnest exploration of every part of her that he had missed. His hand rested on the small of her back as he pulled her into an arch so that his lips could nibble and lap at her breast. His other hand stroked the sensitive skin along her inner thigh until she was squirming into his touch. She silently begged him to deepen the touch, and he obliged her. There was no part of her that his hands and lips did not become reacquainted with.

"Raizo." His name was a sharp pant against his very occupied lips. Each time she tried to say his name, he would touch her just so, or stroke his tongue against her in a way that made the sound draw out into a moan or a break apart upon her tongue.

With a frustrated growl, his body had determined that she had far too many clothes on. His hands moved to her waist, and he gently set her down back on the ground without breaking the greedy kisses that he was placed on her neck and shoulders. Theoretically, he understood that if she was going to remove her clothing he would have to give her the chance to do so. However, that still left the problem of him having to stop touching her. "Take off your clothes, Mika."

Amused, Mika smiled and this time it was her who pulled back to look into his eyes. Confidence in her newfound abilities had apparently made her brave. "I'm supposed to be seducing you."

"I'm seduced, take off your robes." The demand was made a little more tersely then he had meant it to, but she would have to forgive him. She was driving him made, and she was the only cure that he wanted. Even now his hands continued their journey over her curves; he was forcing himself to be gentle with her. Which, was hard because it was not at all what he wanted to do "Quickly"

The love of his life bowed her head and slowly began to peel away the layers of her robes. Raizo wasn't sure if the gasp came from her or him, but at the first sight of her skin, his hands were ripping away the material. He allowed the robes to pool in a forgotten heap around her feet, and his eyes hungrily swept over her body. He was sure that the robes had been lovely, beautiful even, but he could not find it in himself to care about them.

He couldn't taste her, but he it didn't stop him from dropping to his knees and running his kisses along her inner thigh. Mika took in a sharp intake of breath at the feel of tongue stroking her. She was so close, but he didn't want her to finish yet. Raizo pulled back and pulled her thigh over his shoulder. At the sound of his name spilling past her lips, he gently began to nibble and licked the petal-like folds of her sex. Every stroke of his tongue against her skin was rewarded with a whimper of his name. Her fingers were curled tightly into his hair trying to stave off the quivering of her body. He missed the way she tasted, but for now, he would settle for feeling her shatter against his tongue.

"Raizo!" The sound of his name was a soft unintelligible scream that drowned away the noise of the shadow. Her body writhed and bucked against his lips as he contained to trace his name within her folds, and branded her with his touch. As her body relaxed around his shoulders, he settled her foot back onto the ground. He soon replaced his tongue with his fingers; gently stroking her down from her high as he stood in front of taking in the satisfied sleepy expression on her face. She reached for him to pull him into a kiss, and Raizo realized that she thought they were done. He sneered and shook his head at how she thought she was going to get out of the burning in the fire that she started. It was cute, so much so that he allowed her to take the chance to kiss him before turning her sharply around and bending her forward so that her hands were pressed against the door.

His hands slid over her body until he could pull her hips back against his. One hand sliding between them, so that he could line his body up against hers. Their combined breathing was the only thing that Raizo could hear beyond the rush of blood within his veins. He was almost mindless with the need to be inside of her, to possess her, to remind her of whom she belonged to. As he guided himself through her center, his free hand slid into the beautiful coils of her hair. He gritted his teeth in an effort not to lose control, but his resolve was fast failing against the feel of her skin against his.

Raizo went still momentarily to try to get himself under control. Mika's hips pushed back against his and shook her head, and vehemently shook her head. "Don't …you…dare stop!"

He knew it was over the moment her body clenched around him. He leaned over and placed a line of kisses along her spine in silent apology of whatever was about to happen. His hips pulled back only to replace himself within her, slowly at first to give her the chance to change her mind, but the further he sank into bliss the more vigorously the command was being followed. The sounds of her moans told him she was not only ready for more but was just on this side of demanding it. And in all things concerning her wishes, he thoroughly complied.

Soon Raizo lost all sense of propriety or care. He was throwing himself into her in the effort to take them both past that point of no return her name was barely above a chant. A whisper that was almost pious in its level of reverence. His fingers tighten within her hair and pulled her back until was bowed in front of him, and causing her back to arch in an effort to fully sink inside of her. Her hands were virtual claws against the front of the door that she held onto. The sudden change to the pitch of her voice signaling that she was almost about to fall apart against him.

He pulled her chin up higher and tilted her chin to the side so that his lips could brush across her ear. A soft laugh rumbled beneath her earlobe at the soft needy whimpers that continued to topple over those full beautiful lips. "Mika…Mika…Mika… are you about to come …for me?"

He slowed his hips down despite the desire to finish amidst her screams, and Mika to his satisfaction squirmed and bit her lips trying to catch her breath. "Raizo, don't! Please…don't stop. I can't."

"I think you can." His tongue pulled the lobe of her ear between pearly white teeth and he bit down. The resulting scream made him slow down even further. He wanted to make sure that he had all of her attention after all. "But we have to finish the test. That is what you wanted isn't it?"

By this time his movement had gone torturously slow. Each roll of his hips was stopped just before pulling out before gliding back in just as slowly. His eyes moved to the door frame, where Mika's knuckles were almost white with the effort it was taking her not to come before she was told. Such a girl. She wouldn't be allowed to come until he was ready, and he was just about ready. "Who are you?"

"I'm… the Shadow Lotus and I belong…. to the Black sand…Raizo please!" Her voice was desperate sob for release that he had just about been ready to grant her until she told him who she belonged to.

"Not...the right answer." Raizo frowned, what she had said was true…sort of. She was the Lotus of Shadows and a member of the clan of the Black Sand. However, he wouldn't say that was who she belonged to. He trailed a love of kisses along her neck and placed a kiss on her pulse before biting into her shoulder. "Try again."

Her hips rocked back against his hips as his teeth grazed her shoulder. She had to bite her own lip to keep from screaming out his name once more. "I belong to the order of the Lotus? Raizo… please."

Raizo slid his fingers between hips and had to catch her before her knees buckled. He was almost at the end of his tether as well, but he wouldn't stop until she told him what he wanted to hear. "If you get it wrong this time Mika. I will stop. "He gently pulled her chin up and nuzzled into her neck. He was fully prepared to walk away. The green-eyed monster that coiled beneath his skin only wanted one answer. "Once more try Mika. Who... do… you … belong …to?"

"You Raizo…ah… I belong to you!" Mika was a mass of shivers and writhing in his arms. She was so close, Raizo was almost tempted to walk away, and make her wait until they could finish in person. However, she had been a good girl.

That monster that rested within Raizo's skin almost purred at the answer she had given him. He pulled away, and could only smile at the offended pout gasp that filled Mika's lungs. Although when he turned her around and pulled her legs around him the pout turned to a soft "o" as he slid back into her. "Does my Lotus wish to come?"

Her arms wrapped around him, and it was all she could do to stop finishing them both. Dark eyes met his, and his lip were found in a long kiss, that stole every inch of his breath away. "Ozouno Raizo…please…"

There was no rejoining answer except the short part of her name, as he pooled all of his concentration into bringing them both to completion. His lips dragged from hers, as he pulled her arms above her head. His hand held at her hips, to hold her stead, as he continued to drive into her. They were lost to the sensation of touch, and when she fell apart in his arms, this time he followed her. Raizo's world exploded into a million starts behind his eyes. Distantly he heard Mika call out his name, but there were too many sensations come to him in a place where there should be none.

He honestly didn't know how long they stayed that way. It could have been five minutes he knew or even an hour, but he didn't care. It had been three very long years since he had the chance to cradle his love within his arms, and he knew as he held his queen he would not survive another three years without her. He pulled away from her and pulled her robes back around her shoulders. She was far too weak to make it back to her body by herself. Between being injured, the stress of the ceremony, just traveling in the shadow he doubted her body would be able to take much more.

Raizo turned and took her back down to her body. He laid her down in the infirmary and watched as she disappeared from his view. He was not going to leave until he knew she had made it back safely. Once assured that she was at home, so to speak, he returned to his own body. Slowly waking himself up.

He looked at the clock beside her nightstand and noted that it had been two hours in shadow. He rolled his shoulders and stretched out his limbs. He adjusted his clothes and picked up his kusarigama. He was almost feeling benevolent right now. He might let the old man say goodbye to Rokuro before he beheaded him. His ears pricked and it sounded like swords ringing, which should not be possible. This was a no fighting zone, but none the less he heard the sound of metal clashing against each other. He jerked open Mika's door, and his mouth went dry at the sight before him. Dead and injured ninja lined the corridor, mostly of Stone Fox, but enough of the black sand to fill him with a dark rage that almost scared him.

Mai and Aki were valiantly playing a game of keep away at Mika's door. They must have been dispatched to keep his body safe. Mai was fighting well, but she was also tired of the night's events. Aki was picking up any slack that she had, but he was also becoming worn with the effort. One ninja swept Mai's legs off from under her, and Aki Called out her name. Though he shouldn't have worried, Raizo wrapped his chain around the enemy ninjas neck and jerked backward. There was a loud snap, and the ninja crumpled bonelessly to the floor.

Mai scurried up from the ground and bowed. Raizo returned the bow and waited for the explanation that he knew was about to be riveting. "Ozouno Raizo, I am pleased that you could join us! We are under attack!"

Raizo looked at Aki who could only shrug with a bemused smile before returning to fight off ninja who began to file into the hallway leading up to Mika's room in earnest. Raizo pulled up his mask and began walking down the hall to meet them. He would give them what they came for, and what could they have invaded the tower for if not for death?


	2. Chapter 2

Mika was satiated, but she was sore. Movement was not much of an option, but her hearing was on point. In fact if anyone asked her right now she would say that she heard the distant sounds of swords ringing. Point in fact it didn't sound like they were so distant. It sounded like the distinct sound of metal against metal was right outside the med bay door. There was a sharp scream, and Mika's dark eyes flew open. They were under attack, and Mika refused to allow her new family to die without her being beside them. Her muscles screamed as she pulled herself from the bed. She didn't truly know how long she had been in shadow with Raizo, but she knew that she would need to pull herself together if she was going to be of any use once she walked through those doors.

Her feet hit the floor, and her body screamed in a protest she had no choice but to ignore. Her stitches groaned, and she shushed them with hand placed over the bandages that they were fighting. The clan was in trouble, and she would not dishonor her title by sleeping through the war that someone had brought through their doors. It had to be the Stone Fox. They were the only ones who would dare to strike during the clan's down time. If she knew anything about Raizo, they Stone Fox would be lucky to have a pebble standing in their ancestral home. The close she got to the door, the more the screams started to sound like those she knew. She grabbed her kitana that she had used during the battle and pushed open the doors to the sick room that she had been resting in.

The sight that greeted her once the doors opens was right out of a feudal period drama. Many ninja laid at her feet in various process of dying or trying to escape death. It appeared that the Stone Fox were getting the worst of it, but there were many of the Black Sand's comrades down. The Stone Fox seemed to have under estimated their ability to multi task this night. They were probably here to extract something, but Mika for the life of her could not figure out what it could be. A ninja charged at her, and she barely had enough time to use the end of her sword to block the attack before flipping her blade, and carving her assailant a new smile.

It went on that way for some time. She would defend herself then mount an attack with each new invader that came toward her. They blocked the way to the elevator, so Mika had to work her way up the corridor to the stair well. She finally began to hear voices that she knew, and a deep sigh of relief left her lungs. Asami was screaming at Hachiro to run back to the med bay, but he was on the ground looking as if he could barely keep his lungs from collapsing. The doctor was just in front of her desperately trying to reach him, but having to defend his self as well. Mika took a deep breath despite the protest of her body, and summarily executed the man who kept the doctor from reaching Hachiro. The doctor turned around with a surprised look on his face, and bowed with a smile before hurriedly making his way to Hachiro.

Asami and her fighting fans were moving through the enemy like a tornado of death. Her fans went up, and her adversaries went down. Mika covered the doctor long enough for him to reach Hachiro, so he could render aide, then moved back into the fray with Asami. Asami glanced at and the hand she had on her side, but didn't say anything. She glanced at the door way where their enemies seemed to be coming in in earnest, and nodded to Mika. The first shout of Stone Fox was soon silenced at a swing of Mika's stolen blade. Mika wasn't as graceful as Asami, but she was efficient. While Asami was all smooth lines and ballerina swirls; Mika was sharp angles precise movements. Where Asami killed as if she were performing a deadly dance; Mika killed as if she was putting in putting in coding that would shut anything in her path down permanently.

There was a momentary lull, and Asami looked around at all of the dead who rested at their feet. Her head rested back on her shoulders and she gave a sharp bark of laughter that startled Mika from her very grim thoughts about the likelihood of her seeing Raizo again. Mika's eyes caught the doctor's and he could only give a benign smile as he stitched up Hachiro as best he could.

"Entertained venerable Lotus?"

"Vastly!" The dark smile that tugged at Asami's lips only deepened the longer she looked around. Mika could only call the look one of immense satisfaction. "I will say that it has not been dull since Raizo took over the Black Sand. I haven't been this entertained in ages!"

Mika only gave the aptly named Blood Lotus a wan smile, and tried to give her muscles time to catch up with the exertion placed on them she shouldn't have stopped. When her adrenaline was running high it kept the pain at bay. Now her body was screaming for her to stop all activity immediately. Mika could only internally sigh, and wrap her hands around the sword tighter. There would be no stopping until she was physically in Raizo's arms.

"How is Hachiro doctor?"

"Dishonored ." Hachiro's strained reply was followed S with a sharp intake of breath as the doctor continued to stitch him up without anything to numb the pain. Mika personally felt he deserved a medal for not passing out from the loss of blood he had sustained. The fact that he was still breathing was a blessing that Mika sent up a payer for.

"There is no dishonor in fighting bravely or being wounded in the protection of another Hachiro. You were hurt protecting my life, a fact that I am both thankful and humbled by it." Mika dipped as far as she could without aggravating her side. A process mad excruciating by unhealed wound, and the new ones she sustained. 'I'd bow, but my own stitches do not wish to oblige me in the effort. "

Asami nodded and raised her fan. "Well be prepared to pay him back in full. It appears there are more coming." The elder Lotus looked back at the doctor as he tied off the last stitch, and picked Hachiro up from the floor. Allowing the young assassin to drape his arm over the doctor's slight but strong shoulders. "They must be looking for you Mika."

Mika had thought the same, but hadn't dared to say it out loud. She didn't want to think that all of this carnage this complete unnecessary loss of life rested on her shoulders. There were families who would not see their loved ones any longer because of her. Mika's lifted the katana and faced the door with a determined frown. She would make sure the Stone Fox paid dearly for the souls they took tonight. She would take as many heads as necessary to make the families of those slain sleep well at night. Mika had never lived in a world where honor was so important, but she vowed on her life that she would make Rokuro pay!

This time as the fresh group of ninja came in she allowed herself to go numb, and just continued to get the job of killing done. She needed to make it to her office. She would bring the Stone Fox to their knees with the information on her computer. As the killed the moved forward. They were trying to make it to the elevator. If Raizo was coming for her it would be there. She would see her love, and personally see to the extinction of that depraved cult that had the audacity to call themselves a clan.

They reached the main foyer with very little conversation. There wasn't any need of words. They all knew without words that there was only one way this war would end. Hachiro was barely alive by the time they got to the main floor. He was only staying conscious by sheer strength of will. He couldn't stand, but the assist he had been making with throwing stars and daggers were keeping Asami and Mika alive enough to get them close to the front door. Once they cleared the doors to the first floor Mika moved to the wall, and hit the alarm.

It didn't take long before hundreds of Black Sand ninja were pouring into the building. She didn't know where they were coming from. But she sagged with relief as they began the work of cleaning up and striking down the Stone Fox that were left. Mika summarized that they had only sent shock troops in to puller out and get away. They had not been prepared for the small scale war that they had received. Mika gave a sharp ugly laugh. If they weren't prepared for them at their most unaware, they would be astounded at what they would do once Raizo took the war to their very door step!

Mika looked back at Hachiro and the doctor, and Hachiro was losing his fight with consciousness. Asami and Mika guarded him and each other as they made their way to the elevator. Some didn't want to give up their objective of grabbing Mika, and they received death for their trouble. I was just as Mika was killing off one overzealous Stone Fox that a slow clap filled foyer. Mika turned and Rokuro was lazily walking towards them with an amused smile. Clearly the bastard was okay with his men getting killed for his cause. Mika lifted her sword and Asami raised her fan and looked back at the doctor.

"Take Hachiro to the mountains. Hurry!"

"No! I will not abandon Ozouno and his lady. I will die first!"

"You most certainly will!"

"Please Hachiro we can't have you as a distraction!" Mika moved to Hachiro, and removed whispered into his ear before turning to face Rokuro once more. "Hurry! Raizo needs you!"

Hachiro looked like he wanted to argue but the doctor didn't give him much choice. They were there one moment and faded into shadow the next. This left Asami and Mika to face Rokuro freely. Rokuro slowly pulled of his top, and let it slide to the floor. His muscles moved like liquid in the light of the hall, and Mika wasn't as sure about the outcome of this fight. They lifted their weapons, and Mika gritted her teeth as he faced them with a laugh. "You can't beat me. Not in your condition. So, why don't we make a deal? I'll let granny go, and you come with me peacefully?"

Asami began to cough with her indignant stutters, and not for the first time she noticed the flecks of blood that marred her gown sleeve. This evening had taken its toll on her, and Mika knew that their chances of surviving were very slim. She didn't know how much time Asami had left, but she didn't want it wasted fighting the coward in front of them. Mika looked at the elevator behind Rokuro, and saw no sign of Raizo. Dark brown eyes moved over the chaos around them, and she took a deep breath. "If I say yes, will you take your ninja and leave?"

"Mika no!" Asami moved in front of her trying to stop her and her coughing fit at the same time.

Mika sighed, and looked at Rokuro with a frown. "Do you agree?"

"Of course pet. You come with me without a fight, and I will release Asami peacefully, and we will vacate the premises." Rokuro smiled and held out his hand."

Mika's stitches were all but torn open. Both Asami and Mika were wearing almost as much og their own blood as those of their enemies. Mika could only trust that Raizo would get to her soon. She turned her gaze to Asami and shook her head. "Asami, go find Raizo. Tell him, I love him that his wedding present is scroll 89."

Asami looked as if she was going to argue, but lifted her gown and hurriedly made her way to the elevator. Rokuro let her get to a few feet of the elevator, and pulled out a gun. Mika lunged at him with a scream, but not in time to keep the gun from discharging. Asami fell to the floor and Rokuro caught Mika as she tried to run to Asami. Rokuro brought the butt of the gun down on top of her head. The last thing she saw before blacking out was the elevator doors sliding open.

Raizo heard a shot before the door slid open, and his heart ceased beating within his chest. He didn't know what he expected to find on the other side of that door, but a crumpled and bleeding Asami was not it. Mai screamed and ran to her grandmother. Raizo scoured the area for Mika, and couldn't find her. The rage he felt at that moment was almost binding him to what was happening at his feet. Pulling his anger back he knelt, and almost threw up in his mouth. Asami had been shot clean through her stomach. Her blood was everywhere and there was no stopping it. Raizo did his best to keep the Blood Lotus from bleeding out, but Asami waved his hands away.

"There is no time Raizo, I'm dying and there is much to tell you." Asami coughed, and looked up at him. Blood stained lips curled into a fond smile. "I said you would be the greatest Ozouno the world has ever known, and I was right. You will avenge me, yes?"

"Oh count on it Asami, I will erase the Stone Fox from this world. They will barely be a foot note on the story of your life. Every last one will be hunted. I will collect the clan leader's head and present it to Mai myself." Raizo was still frantically trying to keep the only mother he had ever known alive. It wasn't sup[posed to end like this!

Asami nodded with a smile and paused to catch her breath. It was one of the last few she would take. "Mika told me to tell you that your wedding present is scroll 89 before Rokuro took her. When you rescue her, tell her I am proud of her, and proud to call her my daughter."

Raizo nodded, and blinked back tears from his eyes he didn't even know he had tears left to shed. He didn't have time though. He had to go find the scroll, but he would not leave until Asami had drawn her last breath. No Lotus would be so dishonored.

Asami's hand lifted to Mai's cheek, and her thumb gently stroked the girls chin. "I remember the night your mother came screaming into this world. So small and perfect. You look just like her." Asami coughed, and blinked away the tears that freely fell down her cheek. "You will make sure that Mika writes my story. Do you hear? She will pen the story of my life just as she will be honor bound to write yours!"

Mai nodded and pulled Asami close, outright sobbing into her grandmother's arms. "I swear it Honorable Lotus! We will not rest until you are avenged!"

"I know child. I fear the Stone Fox bit off more than they could chew this time." Asami coughed again, and laid back. Raizo could swear she was aging in front of him. He had never felt so powerless in his life. He remembered the night he had vowed never to be powerless again, and it paled in comparison. "You will train the kunoichi with honor and discipline." This time the coughs were coming with shudders, and Asami seemed to fold into herself. "I love you my sun."

"I love you venerable Lotus. Sleep well. You will need the rest for when you see our ancestors." Mai's words trembled on her lips. "You have so many tales to tell."

Asami cackled her gown covering the line of blood that fell down her chin. She wiped the blood away with a smile and her eye closed. "That I do love. That I do. Remember weakness compels strength and…"

"Blood begets blood." Raizo finished for her. The Blood Lotus died with a soft smile on her lips, and Mai began to sob in earnest. Aki wrapped his arms around her, and Raizo looked up to see that they were surrounded by their clan.

They had not lost as many as they had originally thought, and managed to save quite a few, but their losses were many. He could tell by the grim looks on their faces that they all considered this battle a loss. He rose and left the circle of Mai's mournful screams. Katsuo rose to follow him, and Raizo held up his hand. He could hear the distant sound of sirens, and there wasn't enough time to stand around.

"Katsuo, Aki, take Mai and Asami back to the mountains. In fact, take them all there. I will meet you in our ancestral home. Tell the kunoichi to prepare for the funeral rights." Raizo took a dee breath in an effort to stall the hysteria that was spreading through his limbs. He had not only lost Asami, but Rokuro had taken Mika. He wanted to strike out, and hurt someone or something the way he was hurting, but could not afford to lose focus on the revenge that he was going to extract for the damage that was done this night.

His seconds in command nodded and started the business of moving their family to the mountains. Raizo for himself made his way to the elevator. He would let Interpol figure out how to handle this mess. Maslow owed Mika for all of the promotions he had received. He moved into the elevator, and pushed the button up to Mika's suite. It had only been a few hours ago that he held Mika in his arms. He had just gotten her back only to lose her and Asami in one night. Raizo's fist tightened in fury, but he held it tightly. Mika had given him instructions, and he meant to follow them.

Upon reaching Mika's suite he moved to her office where she kept the scrolls that she was researching. He wished he could say that it was a room filled with ancient artifacts, and beautiful art work, but no. That was all held in the museum down stairs. Mika scroll room was a simple white box with a window that looked out over towards the mountains where their base was. Mika always kept her reasons for doing anything in front of her. The only furniture in the room was a desk and a chair and a small laptop. On that laptop was every scroll she had been researching.

Raizo could hear the sirens outside of the tower, and knew Maslow would be looking for him. He had no desire to tell him Mika was gone, especially since he didn't know if she was dead or alive. If Maslow confronted him with his failure to protect the woman they both loved, he didn't know what he would do. So to avoid that conversation he politely picked up the lap top and tucked it into his shirt before fading into the shadows He needed to make it to the mountains, and he wanted it to be quite trip. He wanted the comfort of silence but he doubted his rage would allow him any.

He reached the mountains, and saw that the ladies had begun preparations for the funeral rights. He turned and almost fell to his knees at the pyre that he knew held Asami. He could hear Mai's distant wailing, and resolutely moved to his chamber. He had plans to make, and his strategic planner had been kidnapped. Granted he knew more about the art of war then Mika did, but Mika was vindictive in a way that would draw the pain out, and make it last. And that was what he truly wanted. He didn't want the Stone Fox to just die he wanted them to hurt the way he was until this generation was dead and gone.

He set up the laptop and typed in what he thought was Mika's password. It wasn't. He frowned, and tried another. He even tried some of his. It was strange Mika hadn't told him of a system change. He spent at least an hour of frustration trying to get into the computer, but to no avail. He was about to give up for the time being when he heard the quiet foot but steady steps of someone heading to his rooms. They weren't being stealthy, so he doubted whoever it was meant any harm. They were however choosing a bad time. He listened and the footsteps were joined by more footsteps. Then he heard soft arguing. A very annoyed Raizo rose from his table, and slid his door open.

"I hate to quell your arguing, but I would be remiss not to explain to you how close you three are to dying." Raizo's spoke through gritted teeth as he addressed his generals. Aki and Katsuo looked contrite, but Hachiro looked pale and determined. He looked very close to the death that Raizo had promised.

"I am sorry Ozouno, but I have a message." Hachiro looked down in shame. "From…Mika." Hachiro dropped to the floor at Raizo's feet. "On my honor, I did not wish to leave her, but I was dying and they both said…" He sobbed and lowered his head to the floor. "I was no use to them. She sent me away, so that I could live, and give you this message."

Raizo wanted to cut him down for leaving the love of his life and his mother figure, but even he doubted he could withstand both the strength of an Asami and Mika when their minds were made up. However, it was a very close thing. "What was her message Hachiro. "

"She said that her password was the name of our enemies." Hachiro barely got the words out, before Raizo returned to Mika's laptop. He typed in the words "StoneFox" and soon the screen flashed black before a file filled with numbered scrolls filled the screen. He looked for scroll 89, and double clicked on the screen. Another file pulled up, and it had different types of files with distinct labels on them. He clicked on the one labeled "stronghold", and a whole schematic of the Stone Fox's base filled the screen. It was a detailed map of an underground compound beneath a tiny dry cleaner in Tokyo.

Raizo smiled and not for the first time marveled at the ability of his love to give him exactly what he needed. In another file called "Erasure" it detailed her plan to wipe the Stone Fox from the map. The only thing she hadn't figured out was how to get into the stronghold. They couldn't just fight their way in. He turned to his generals and looked at Hachiro who was still bowing on the floor. He Mika had also saved his life this night. "Thank you Hachiro. Your honor has not suffered. Go make yourselves ready for the funeral. Once we bury our dead we will be at war. Let the others know that if they want to jump ship now is the time. Once it starts there is no turning back."

Aki gave Raizo a grim smile and shook his head. "I can assure you we are all ready to finish this war Ozouno. We will allow no one to hurt our own."

Raizo rose from his chair and headed to the court yard for the funeral. There was much to discuss, but it would wait after they paid their respects to the lives that were taken, and to the Blood Lotus that was stolen from them.


	3. Chapter 3

Mika was a diet ninja. One could say ninja light if they were feeling like being unnecessary. Between the training she received from Interpol and the training she had been given by Asami she could hold her own if she needed to. However, she was not born to this life, nor was she tempered in the fires of a kill or be kill world that Raizo was trained in. She understood that, and she appreciated the privilege at which she was able to learn her skills. However, as she stood tied up in the middle of what could politely be called a stone basement she knew that if they untied her she would rend everyone in that room to pieces. She was almost rabid with the rage that filled her. It had been a few scan hours ago that she had woken up. She knew two things. Asami was no longer alive, and Rokuro would be dead before the week was out. She swore it.

Although to be fair a lot of her vengeance was due to the skimpy outfit that he had trussed her up in. The thought of him undressing her made her shiver unpleasantly, and swallow the bile that threatened to escape her throat. He needed sever psychiatric monitoring, and there was no way of getting around it. She was in this dark red two piece number. She looked more like a concubine then the a member of a corporate faction of ninjas.

Rokuro at the moment was being berated by his grandfather. Rokuro's hateful but impressive form was sitting in a ridiculously ornate chair with his leg casually draped over the side. The psychopath was cleaning his nails and letting his grandfather drone on about honor, and the mess that he had gotten them into. Mika agreed. She didn't even bother trying to bargain with them. There would be no bargaining. Their only hope was to kill Raizo. He would not let one stone of this place stand while he was still breathing. Mika smiled, and relaxed in her binds. It was just a matter of time before Raizo found them, and Mika may or may not last until then, but she would make sure that Rokuro was dead before she left this earth.

Rokuro looked up to see Mika smiling, and Mika smiled even wider. "Are you enjoying this useless show my grandfather is putting on?" Rokuro's grandfather sputtered and coughed as if he had no idea what sort of disrespectful dog he had raised.

Mika laughed and wiggled in her binds a bit to see if he was stupid enough to leave them loose. "No, it's a waste of time. You'll be dead before the next full moon. Your best bet is to run and keep running. "

"I see." Rokuro rose and began to make a circle around her. "You think I want to run? No, I want him to come. I want you to see the life leave his eyes as I take you in front of him. I will capture him, and kill him slowly."

Mika was amused but decided to humor him. It wasn't as if she was going anywhere. "Then why not just challenge him at the tower? If you were so ready to meet death, why not court it where it came?"

"Where would the fun be in that? It's not fun fighting someone when they are weak." He stopped to her left, and picked up a strand of her hair. Rokuro brushed his own hair out of his eyes before letting them close. He leaned in close to her ear, and Mika wanted to recoil at the way his breath brushed against her skin. "I want him to think he'll win before I crush his dreams. Only then will I allow him to die; when he knows there is no more hope."

Rokuro turned to his grandfather and smiled. The younger fox was almost giddy with the pleasure of the prospective fight that was to come. Mika looked over the grandfather with a lift of her brow. She hoped he saw how insane his grandson was. The man had the decency to lower his eyes. Whatever honor he felt they had left had clearly disappeared this night. Rokuro lifted his arms in a stretch and looked back at Mika over his shoulder. The twisted grin on his face made Mika's flesh crawl and she wanted nothing more than to shoot him down the same way he had killed Asami.

"I think I will go laydown. I want to be well rested when they get here. I wouldn't want you to be dissatisfied when the time comes." Rokuro laughed at his own joke, and sauntered out of the hall in his delusion leaving Mika and his Grandfather alone.

"You know that you will need to disband, and give up don't you?" Mika turned her complete attention to the Stone Fox patriarch. She was hoping that he had more sense than his sick grandson. "Raizo will come and he will tear this place apart."

Shigorue lowered his head, and stood there for a few minutes as if in deep thought. She was hoping he was planning on how to get as many of his people out of there as he could before The Black Sand came for them. He lifted his head with a smile and shrugged. Mika's eyes lifted heavenward, and she was not starting do doubt his sanity as well.

"I know that you think we are insane little Lotus, but I assure you I view this upcoming war with great pragmatism." He frowned some at the way Mika scoffed, and shook his head. "You are too young. You do not understand what it is like to have children that you cannot control. Knowing something must be done, but unable to do what one must."

Mika watched him in confusion as he gathered his robes as he prepared to leave. "So you are willing to let your clan die in a misplaced murder suicide?" Mika spat in disgust, she wasn't sure what she was hearing, but she was mentally tallying the lives that were going to be lost if they went through this war. She had no doubt Raizo would win, but at what cost? Raizo would spare no effort or expense to get to them. Mika aside, Rokuro killed who was tantamount to his mother and honor demanded that he avenge her. The joke that Raizo was not was playing in her head, and the countless deaths that were about to happen unnecessary was making her weak.

"More of a fixed gamble, my dear. If Raizo wins this war, Rokuro will be stopped. I will also pass as I'd rather die than let Ozouno's bastard take my clan. Then nothingness and I will be at peace. However, If Rokuro pulls this off. I will have the strongest clan in the world. The Black Sand will die out, and the resources that they have amassed will belong to me. They will even get rid of my grandson."

Mika's eyes widen at the last part, and her face settles into a frowning wonder. "You are not going to save Rokuro? He's your grandson for heaven's sake!"

"I trust you have seen my grandson?" His snowy brows lifted as he awaited her response, and when he saw none was forth coming he nodded. He saw that she understood. "There is no way to help him. Once Raizo and Rokuro have killed each other I'll take you and the rest of the kunoichi that Raizo keeps, and use you all as breeding stock to create better off spring. They will be the finest warriors the world has ever seen."

"You're just as sick as he is." Mika murmured, and rested back onto the pillar she was tied to. They were going to have to extinguish every person standing in that compound.

Shigorue smiled and shrugged. "Well I can't say that Rokuro developed his sadism from his mother's line. They were very gentle people. It was a shame I had to break her. My son was too soft on her. I had to take Rokuro under my wing. He unfortunately had the negative benefit to be spoiled. I didn't teach him restraint." He turned to leave, and smiled at Mika pleasantly looking for the entire world like a benevolent grandfather. "I won't make the same mistake with my new children rest assured."

Mika watched him leave the basement with astonished hatred. There were very few things that she could not stand. Racism and bigotry at the top of her list, but she had never known hatred for particular persons. However, she was easily finding it within her heart to hate the Stone Fox clan. They did nothing but take and take, and Mika promised that would stop. They would not be allowed to leave his burrow, and infect the world further with their disease. They would help who they could, and put down the rest.

She laid her head back on the pillar, and allowed her limbs to relax in the ropes that bound her. She didn't really know how long she would stay that way, but she wanted to be ready when Raizo got there. When it started it would happen quickly, and she would make sure every promise she made to him and Asami were fulfilled. Dark eyes closed, and she mediated on what was to come. It would be war, and her side was coming.

It had been two days since the night at the Sand Tower. Interpol had collected their dead, and delivered them to the mountain. There was an investigation of course, but publically it was a terrorist attack. Unofficially neither the Japanese nor European government wanted any parts of what was about to happen. It was easier to just turn a blind eye the way they had done for hundreds of years when it came to the business of ninjas. Raizo avoided Maslow for now. He would have something to tell him by the end of the week. Either he or Mika were alive, or they were dead. He would not draw breath while she did not.

Twilight had fallen over the mountain, and it was time to start the funeral services. Here were at least forty pyres spread amongst the grounds of their ancestral home. Each ninja that rested had trained, fought, and dies with their comrades, and they would all follow Asami into the afterlife. Each pyre was connected by a trail of kindling that would be lit once Asami's had been lit. Raizo had avoided looking at the largest pyre in the center. It was covered with cherry blossoms, and each soft breeze would cause more to rain down. She had been dressed in her ceremonial robes, and Mai stood next to her grave with tears still falling down her cheeks.

Raizo had spent the last two nights trying to figure out how to get into the compound. It was beneath a dry cleaner, but they only opened when receiving shipments. Raizo knew his time table was short. IF he waited two long Rokuro would start trying to harm Mika in effort to provoke him into make a large mistake. However, he couldn't just go charging into the building. They had been discussing what to do amongst the war council, and he missed Mika. She would never give her two cents about the fighting decisions of the clan, but she allowed him to bounce ideas off of her. He would tell her whatever was on his mind, and she would just listen. Well he didn't have that. So now he would just have to figure out what to do to save her.

One of the kunoichi who attended his rooms came up to him and bowed letting him know, without words, that everything was ready. Not for the first time did he pray to the kami for their graciousness for the women in his life. They were a blessing that he had never ceased to be grateful for. He rose from his spot near the gate, and moved to the center near Asami's pyre. He had no choice but to face the fact that she was not coming back.

He looked out among those gathered. There were thousands of ninja in the compound, and more on the way there. He wasn't sure how the kunoichi made room for them all, but they had. They had clothed and fed the multitude that lined the roof and walkways of every inch of the compound. They were a legion, and the kunoichi never allowed him to lose face in their impromptu hospitality. Even now they started preparing for the events that would come after the ceremony. Something tickled at the back of Raizo's thoughts, but he let it rest he had to speak to the clan at this moment.

"Two nights ago my bride was stolen. Two nights ago, we lost our brothers and sisters in a battle that was cowardly forced upon us in the middle of the night." Raizo could tell by the grumbles throughout the camp that they were angry, and read for revenge. It was just under the surface. It was a fire that needed to be stoked, and Raizo would make sure that it was set ablaze.

"Two nights ago the honorless Clan of the Stone Fox stole into our tower, and dared to strike out at our clan. They believed we were too week to stop them!" There were angry shouts this time. They were not weak they were ready for war, and just waiting for the words. "Two nights ago they stole our beloved Blood Lotus from us. Two nights ago Asami's star was snuffed out of the sky."

There were angry shouts, and the sound of metal being pulled from their scabbards rung through the air. There was something Raizo was missing. He couldn't figure out what it was. He knew he was close. He knew that the answer was just out of his reach. "But they did not dim Asami's light. They may have ended her life, but her legacy shines before you as brightly as the sun!

Raizo looked to Mai who had stopped crying, and nodded to him. She was ready, and more than willing to go on a fox hunt. He just needed that piece that last piece that would set the foundations that Mika had set. She had given him the tools, but what was that part… "Tomorrow we will go into their burrows and pull the kitsune out by each of their tails! Dragging them out into the light that Asami shone in! We will we will make sure that there is not a hole they can crawl into because their lair will crumble. We will make sure that there is not an ounce of darkness that they can escape into because the light that Asami brought to us will drown out every shadow!" This time the mountains shivered with the force of the shouts of black sand that rang through the stone walls.

He looked to Mai who took the torch in her capable hands. The moment that she set Asami's pyre ablaze Raizo forced himself to watch as he owed it to Asami to bear witness to the price of letting his guard down. The fire slowly crept over Asami, and soon spread to the other pyres that surrounded her. The cool morning air was soon heated with the force of the flames that licked and carried each of their brothers and sister in arms away. He looked back out to his clan, and for the first time since he lost Mika he smiled.

"Do not mourn for those lost. They will continue to fight here after. They died as we should all wish to, on our feet. They will go into this next life protecting Asami, and the legacy that she fought for. "It was more of a comfort to him that she would not go alone then it probably was to anyone else. However, it brought him that much closer to figuring out what to do about the compound beneath Tokyo.

"We will win this war!" The sound of blood thirst was thunderous upon the mountain. He looked to the kunoichi who stood off to the side of the group benevolently watching. They were busy tending to the guest and the clan without a sound. They were dangerous, and carried death within each gentle hand. Raizo's smile became wider because he now knew exactly how to get to Mika. He knew exactly what the key to turning the lock of the door that kept him from going for Rokuro's throat. He turned to the rest of the ninja, and reveled in the satisfaction that came from knowing that they would win this war.

"Our victory lies in the hands of the kunoichi that stay within the mountains. " Raizo moved to the line of kunoichi, and drooped to his knees before them. He would not involve them if they did not wish to be. He forced no one to fight his battles for him. "I ask on behalf of the Black Sand for your help in this war. I understand that your preference is to stay here, but please lend us your strength to avenge our loved ones, and to get them back. "

They looked surprised to be asked as opposed to ordered. They looked around at each other not sure of what to do. Mai came up next to Raizo and dropped to her knees next to him. "Please I also ask for your help in avenging the Blood Lotus Asami, my grandmother."

Soon all of the members of the Black Sand went to one knee before them silently or not so silently calling out their own reasons for going into war. Each reason heartfelt and personal to the one making the request. The ladies being kneeled to seemed a bit overwhelmed, and they look to the one they considered their leader and she shrugged.

"What do you want us to do Ozouno Raizo?"


	4. Chapter 4

***Trigger warning. Implied abuse, fighting, and death. This chapter is a bit darker, but the last chapter will end without as much darkness.***

Mika was nothing if not pragmatic. It was true that the servants untying her hands, stripping her down, and leading her to an opulent bathroom filled with hot steam and fragrant oils. Then the painstaking makeup treatment and the sordid blue two piece bra and panty set that actually fit was a little side eyeing. However, binding her hands again and putting her in an overly large and gaudy bedroom with gold everywhere and picture of Rokuro posing besides the various men he's killed was a bit much.

She was placed on the bed she could only assume was Rokuro's because of the large picture of him hanging above the head board. There were weapons of every type on the walls. Probably not the best idea when people were trying to kill you, but whatever. Mika's dark eyes rolled heaven ward, and she allowed her muscles to relax. The servants had been in such a hurry to get her there they didn't spend as much time securing her as they probably should have. Then again Rokuro was sick enough to have them leave the ropes loose to make his captures think they had a chance. He was a sadist and a bully as she learned late last night, so she shouldn't put it past him at all. Her tied eyes continued to wander over the room until she heard a soft click. The room filled with some type of Japanese pop song that under normal circumstances would have been fun and enjoyable. Now it was grating and ridiculous in the setting that Rokuro had cultivated.

"How long has it been Mika?" The sadist in question moved into her line of eye sight finally revealing himself in what Mika assumed was his grand entrance. "All that time training to be something you're not must have taken a toll on your physical relationship with Raizo."

Mika refused to take the bait, and tried no to flinch at the way her flesh crawled as Rokuro began trailing his fingers over her bare skin. It was one thing to have him looking at her, but it was another to have his diseased flesh caressing her's again.

His hands continued their bruising trail over her skin. Her body recoiled when he got close to a part that only Raizo had access to. "You know you could just come over to my side. The offer still stands. I could make you a queen. You could do what you did for the Black Sand, but here for the Stone Fox. You could pull my father and this clan into the twenty first century. We could never be part of the light, but you could glow in the darkness here with us."

Mika continued to stay silent, but it didn't stop Rokuro from climbing onto the bed and straddling her hips. This time there was no pretense of him not touching her where he wished. His hands roamed and squeezed as he saw fit, and Mika pulled away only to be seized by her neck in a crushing grip that would leave angry purpleish blue bruises on her skin. Her eyes met his, and she could see the dark rage swirling behind his gaze. He didn't just hate Raizo he was jealous of Raizo. He wanted what he had, and he felt she was the key to getting it. If he hadn't he'd have just killed her when they first met.

He released her throat and Mika struggled for air. Pulling in large gulps to deliver much needed oxygen to her limbs. This man was crazy, and there wasn't going to be any reasoning with him. He only cared about what would hurt Raizo. Mika looked up at him, still pulling in deep breathes in case he lost his temper again. If he wanted to hurt Raizo he wouldn't get the chance to do it through her. She would die first.

"I will never help you to take this cancer you call a clan onto the world stage. You like the other clans will fade into memory, and Raizo will dismantle this place brick by brick. Whatever is left will be taken by the proper authorities." Mika knew Raizo was coming, but she didn't know who long it would take him to get there. She had given him as much information as she could, but she couldn't work out how to get them into the underground compound.

There was only one way in or out and it was through the dry cleaner they used as a front and a way to launder their money. She had been hoping to give the information to Raizo in completion the day of their wedding, but it was not to be. So even if Raizo had the information he would still need to figure out how to get inside the compound. He could possibly sneak himself into the building, but then they would over power him with numbers. He would need the entirety of the Black Sand to fight the Stone Fox, and it was going to be a very ugly fight when it came.

Rokuro laughed, and slid his hand inside of her bra. Mika jerked away, did her best to move away from him, but he lazily followed her movements. If the tent that was beginning to grow in his pants was any indication the struggle was turning him on. She immediately stopped, and Rokuro began caressing her skin once more. "You didn't answer my earlier question. How long has it been since you've had Raizo between those very beautiful legs?"

"Not long enough to allow you to replace him." Mika snapped, her whole body was shaking with rage at the audacity of the man above her. She was trying to keep a hold on her temper, but it was a near thing. Being hot headed was not going to serve her in any form she had to think, and think fast. She shifted, and noticed that the squirming was causing her binds were loosened. Her mind did a quick inventory of her surroundings, and tried to come up with a course of action that would get her out of here alive, and mostly intact.

Rokuro bent down, and ran his tongue up along the column of her neck. Mika twisted away, only to be pinned down by Rokuro's arm against her neck. His lips meandered down her shoulders, and over her breast before ending at her stomach. He shifted over her so that her legs were soon wrapped around his waist, and Mika just laid there working on her wrists. She refused to give him anything to work with. He would receive not so much as a gasp from her lips.

"You can't tell me that you aren't enjoying yourself. Plenty of women have told me how amazing I am in bed." Mika lifted her eyes towards the heavens. Only someone selfish would think that being good in bed was about being physically talented. He wouldn't know what an emotional connection was if it was riding him around the room like a horse.

"They tell you that because you're good, or because they are afraid to tell you no?" Mika was almost done with her ropes. She just needed to keep him talking for a little longer, and there seemed to be no other subject Rokuro loved more than himself.

"Does it matter? Pleasure is pleasure." Rokuro seemed to be genuinely confused by the question that Mika asked, and she wasn't sure if she was disgusted or if she pitied him.

"Right… but who is it pleasurable for? Being told what you want to hear is not the same as being told the truth. I'm willing to be you've never been told the truth about anything." Mika could feel the knots in the ropes dissolving within her hands. "It's what makes Raizo an amazing leader and a lover. He pays attention to everything, and wants to be told when something is not right. He doesn't want anyone faking anything with him, and he…" Mika stopped and felt her face warm at the way she had started to gush about Raizo.

Rokuro stopped and looked up at her. He had been busy sliding her panties down her hip, and the mention of Raizo being better at something then him was distracting him away from raping her. He rose, and watched her for a few minutes. Trying to gauge if she was lying or not. But he could see the love lost look in Mika's eyes, and the faint flush over her skin at just the memory of Raizo's touch, and eyes narrowed considerably.

Rokuro had removed himself from the bed, and began to pace around the room in agitation. This conversation was not at all going the way he thought it was going to go, and he was starting to get angry. "What is so amazing that you are willing to risk your life to keep him and his clan safe?" Mika watched him spin, and this time it was desperation that Mika saw on his face. This was starting to get bad, and Mika wasn't sure she was equipped to dance around the minefield that was Rokuro's very damaged psyche. "You don't even have to be here, you can be safe in Interpol living a completely different life than this one. What are you an excitement junkie? Is that what it is? You just want to stamp ninja on your to fuck card? Why not a clan leader? Why not scratch that one off your list?"

"Then I would sleep with your grandfather." Her hands were finally free, but she would have to be careful. She would only get one chance at this, and she had to make sure she took every advantage of it that she could.

That statement seemed to enrage him even further. This time his rage had him throwing things around his room. Vases that were clearly replicas and trophy pictures that were contrived the way selfies often were. "You dare…"

"Oh I more than dare, I'm going to tell you something else as well. You are a spoiled damaged little boy. There is nothing left of you that could turn into a man, and when Raizo kills you, no one in your clan will care. Not your clan, not your concubines, and not your grandfather. He will just make more of you, and you'll be a distant memory that no one will revisit.

"Shut up." Rokuro threw another vase, narrowly missing her head. Mika was playing with fire, but she was planning to burn this whole place down.

"I will not, you are nothing, and you'll be lucky if your clan even sticks around to fight the Black Sand once they get here. This isn't their fight. This is just another fit thrown by the clan head's spoiled little grandson. "Mika was almost ready; she swung her legs over the bed, but kept her arms behind her back. She as supposed to be bound after all.

Rokuro's breath was starting to come in short angry pants. He was doing his best to keep his rage from boiling over. Mika guessed that people usually started to cave around the time he started throwing things. He probably would have killed her by now but he knew that he needed her to even have a hell's chance of surviving Raizo's wrath. Though by the way he was clenching his fists he may stop caring.

"And to answer your other question, Love is what keeps me by Raizo's side. I adore him, and by proxy his clan. They are my family, and we take care of each other because we choose to. Our loyalty to each other is because we want to be loyal to each other. It's not borne from coercion or threats of death. You wouldn't know anything about that, and sadly you will never have the chance to. Raizo will come, and he will make sure there is nothing left to feel anything for."

Mika's heart was beating fast, she was walking towards him, and he was staring at her a hatred he didn't seem to know he had in him. It would take very little provoke him into attacking her, but that was not the way of the Lotus. She stood in front of him, and her eyes met his, and she slowly shook her head. "However, there is one thing that you can do for me that Raizo cannot."

Rokuro was still watching her with the hatred that three year olds held for those who denied them their favorite toy, but his brows lifted because he truly wanted to know he could do that the great Raizo could not. Mika lifted on her toes, and pressed a kiss to his lower lip, her free hands slowly moving into his hair before curling around him in a tight embrace. He was startled, but what he lacked in finesse he made up for in enthusiasm. His embrace was harsh, and punishing. He was physically trying to make her pay for everything she said, and Mika allowed him.

Mika narrowly kept her eyes from rolling at the way Rokuro moaned against her lips. When Raizo kissed her, the intent was to show her that he loved her. It was deep kisses, and slowly strokes of his tongue. It was the soft trail of his hands over the parts of her that were not involved in sex that made her whole body sing with desire. The caresses to her side or the way his fingers gently tugged at her hair. Rokuro was about his satisfaction. It was about what he wanted, and the way he tried to rub her skin raw with his touch. It was the way he used physical intimacy as retribution that made her recoil, but no less resolute on what she would have to do.

Rokuro broke the kiss and he appeared a little dazed. He pulled in air, and looked at her for a moment in wonderment and confusion. "So have you decided to join the Stone Fox after all?"

"No, I'm just doing my part to end its line." Mika stepped back a few steps. The instructions Asami had given her said it wouldn't happen right away, but it would happen. Hopefully, Raizo would forgive her.

Rokuro laughed, and took a step towards her his brow lifting over a sly smile. "You are going to help end my line by kissing the life out of me?"

Mika watched him and slowly nodded. He couldn't see what she could see. The blood pooling in his cheeks, or the way his breath was starting to become harder for him to catch. She took another step back, and this time she smiled. "Your part of this nightmare is over. I hope you find the peace in death that you could not give in life."

"You are the cockiest slut I've ever seen. When I kill Raizo I'm going to send you with him. I don't really need you after all. That little Mai is a true ninja, and she knows what's going on. She will be much easier and pleasing to deal with." Mika laughed, and only watched as his skin became greyer.

"I will tell her you think so, after I deliver your head to her." Mika turned around, and began looking for his closet. What she was not going to do was prance around a compound full of men in a lingerie set. She found the closet just as Rokuro started to cough in an effort to catch his breath.

"What are you doing? Get back here! How dare you ignore me?" Rokuro dropped to his knee doing his best to stand up straight again. He didn't understand yet that he would never stand again.

"I'm looking for clothes. I don't want to wear anything that has touched your skin, but desperate times and all. Don't worry. It will be over in a minute. I'll also be taking this bag. I don't want to get blood everywhere when I deliver your head." Mika spoke to him the way a mother would speak to her child. She was going to leave soon so there was no reason to be extra about him dying.

"What did you do to me you whore?" He sunk all the way to the ground. Mika guessed that fluid had started to enter his heart since there was no longer any pressure to keep the walls from collapsing.

Mika dropped down to her knee, and stroked her hands through his hair comfortingly. She caused this, so she would wait until it was over. "I'm keeping a promise. Don't worry. This was much kinder then the fate your grandfather had planned for you."

She sighed, and looked at the weapon covered walls, and selected a long sharp blade from a choice of hundreds. This was going to be messy, but it was best just to get it done and over with. Mika lifted the blade, to begin the tedious task of removing Rokuro's head, and suddenly the building was rocked with an explosion that made her fall over. Her lips spread in a slow smile, because she knew exactly who that was, and it was a shame that Rokuro would die before he got to see Raizo.

Rokuro's eyes widened. His lips parted to say something, but whatever it was, was lost to the shadows that surrounded them. She watched his eyes go glassy without any life to animate them, and stood up with a stretch. She didn't have much time someone would come looking for him soon. They would find death and real ninja or not, they would die by Asami trained hands.

Raizo had spent the hours before the raid prepping the kunochi for the invasion. It had been awhile since they had seen combat, but if this was done right, they would not need to do much fighting. They would be the shock troops that would get them in, and return to the mountain once the fighting started. Hundreds of the Black Sand were milling around the streets in civilian dress. If one didn't know better it would look just like a normal day in the Nerima district. Raizo rolled his shoulders, and waited from the shadows. He wanted to be on the ground level with his comrades, but everyone knew what he looked like, and it would hurt the mission for him to be there.

He watched from his vantage point as Hachiro knocked on the door of the cleaners. It had been a fight, but Hachiro refused to be left behind. He said he would die before allowing himself to be dishonored in such a way. Raizo and Katsuo were waiting for the signal. Aki was on the ground with Hachiro. That had been another fight. The plan was to use the kunochi as bait. It was time for their monthly shipment of girls to the compound. They would have trucks filled with kidnapped women to pass around to their men. They would later send them to their brothels once they were done with them, or they had borne them so many male children. Mai had insisted on going in with the first wave. Aki had insisted on staying with Mai.

Emotions aside they were all good at their job, but Raizo didn't want any mistakes made because of sentiment. They were already going into this with a slim chance. They had no room for error. Mika was in there, and he would die getting her out of there. It irritated him to even think about what Rokuro could be doing to her. He would touch her no doubt. He would want to be able to goad Raizo into making a mistake by telling him how much Mika enjoyed it. Which was fine, he would take enjoyment out of cutting of each appendage that had dared to be placed on her.

He watched the door open, and he could hear the soft chime of weapons. Everyone was ready; it was just the wait that had them anxious. The truck that Mai and the rest of the kunoichi were in was one of their delivery trucks. They had intercepted the truck a while back, and didn't know what to do with it. Mika had just told them to hold onto it, because they never knew what they could do with it. Raizo smiled grimly at the memory, and his fingers tightened around the kurisgama that was curled about his fingers. He would make sure that the dry cleaners were just a burn out husk by the time they were done.

A man came out of the building fussing at Hachiro. This was not where they usually parked the truck. He asked if he was stupid or new, and Katsuo bit back a laugh that Raizo had a hard time not sharing. Hachiro looked over done with the shop owner, and Aki kept his gaze to ground. Raizo could see that they were trying to keep their patience from snapping, and he could not blame them. He was there as well.

The shop owner climbed in to the delivery truck, and Raizo lost sight of him for a time. He was probably examining the women to make sure that they were worth letting in. Though what inbreds thought they had to be picky about was beyond Raizo. After what felt like forever, the shop owner came out, and nodded to Hachiro. He moved in front of the van to direct them to the correct unloading dock. The van disappeared to the back, and all they could do was wait.

"Do you think it will work?" Katsuo always the pessimist asked no one in particular. Out of the three he was the most blood thirsty. He actually belonged to the clan of the white crab. He was one of the very few sets of male ninja that they kept mainly for the same reason that the Stone Fox kept women. He was breeding stock, and Raizo had freed him. Raizo had no complaints about his work. It could be a little gruesome, but he finished each mission, and that was all that mattered to him.

"We don't have any choice for it but to work." Raizo was pretty relaxed with the plan. He felt Mika would have agreed if not approved of the route they chose to go in. He could hear her talking about the paperwork nightmare now.

It didn't take long when it happened. There was an explosion, and a cloud of dust filled the street. While others cleared the area the Black Sand moved forward. Hachiro met them in the back, and led them through the entrance of the dry cleaners; he brought them down into the basement where Stone Fox guards were tied down to the floor if not dead.

The kunoichi that went into the building first filed out, and dropped to one knee. They had completed their mission, and were awaiting further orders. Raizo had none to give them. They could either stay or go back to the mountains. "You did well ladies. I owe you a debt that I doubt I will ever be able to pay."

"No Ozouno Raizo, you are the head of our clan. We will follow and die for you." The spokesperson for the group gathered stood and pointed to the door. "You must hurry Ozouno, Aki and Mai have already begun the fight."

Raizo could hear the screams coming from the darkness and he bowed to them once more. "If we make it back I will see you on the mountain. If not, then Hachiro, Aki, and Katsuo will take over. Please be careful on your way back."

"As you wish Ozouno." With that they faded into dust filled air, and left Raizo standing with the ninjas that had not already gone in.

Raizo and the other ninja's pulled up their masks and each step pulled them into the darkness. There would be no need to go into shadow. There was not enough light to create any. There was only the sparks flying from the way sword clashed against sword, and the intermittent torch that lined the tunnel into the compound. They began to fight, and for a time Raizo lost himself. There was one down then ten. Ten soon turned into thirty. Another explosion rocked the ground beneath them, and the Black Sand continued to fill the void that was left by those either dying or trying to escape.

They reached what Raizo could only assume was their great hall. There was large area filled with Stone Fox who stood perfectly still in front Shigorue who as sitting on his throne stroking his beard with a soft smile. Aki and Mai met him there covered with the blood of their enemies. However, there was no sign of Mika. He didn't let Shigorue see that he was looking for her, but the first sweep of the room his eyes did showed no tangible proof that she was either alive or well.

"I see that you have come for my grandson." Shigorue was far too calm for Raizo's liking. He wasn't sure what the sly fox had under his sleeve, but it did not bode well for his clan.

"I have." Raizo nodded and threaded his weapon through his fingers. He was dying to get his hand on Rokuro, and even then he doubted his rage was going to be slaked with his death. He would kill as many of the other clan's ninjas to make Mika and Mai feel better about what happened four days ago. "Where is Mika?"

"Why don't we do this Ozouno Raizo. I am sure that you want as many of your clan to survive as I want mine to survive. I will choose Rokuro as my champion, and he will fight you one on one. If he wins then I will take your head and the Black Sand will dissolve. If you should win I will give you Rokuro's head, and dissolve my clan."

"Where is Mika?" Raizo was not in the mood to make any deals. Not when he could just kill every one of them. Why dissolve when he could annihilate? "I will not ask again."

Shigorue's face twisted in rage and he stood from his throne. His eyes blazed much like the torches that circled the room. "You are just like that dishonorable Ozouno. As much as you pretend that you two or different you are just alike!"

The Black Sand started to fan out drawing their weapons. Hachiro stayed at the door in case anyone tried to leave the room. Mai cut down the first ninja soon followed by another cut down by Aki. Katsuo smiled, and lifted his sword to take down another coming towards him. Raizo just began to walk down the middle towards the throne. He was over this clan, and was ready to end it.

"She is with my grandson!" Shigorue sighed, and waved toward the door to one of the servants. "Bring my grandson and his whore.

Raizo saw red for a moment, but pulled his rage back in. He would wait to see what sort of condition Mika was in before deciding Shigorue's immediate fate. "You will never call her that again." He was trying to keep from revenge killing the men that separated him from Shigorue. The fact that he left Mika alone with that animal was enough to condemn the man to death.

The servant who left to get Rokuro ran back to the throne room pale as a ghost. "Master…"

Shigorue took his eyes from Raizo's only to spare the servant an irritated glance. "Where is my grandson?"

"He's dead. His head is in this bag." Mika strolled into the throne room with a bag slung over her shoulder.

Raizo didn't run to her, but it was a near thing. His gazed poured over the woman who belonged to him, and he could see fresh bruising around her neck. Dark rage filled every one of his limbs. She moved in front of Raizo, and went down one knee. She lifted the bag up to him, and he took it from her small hands. He pulled the bag opened, and lifted Rokuro's head out by his hair. Raizo was no less enraged that she had to kill Rokuro, but he was trying hard not to imagine what he was doing to her that she felt she had to. "Mika…?"

"Shigorue was going to have you fight Rokuro then kill you when you were too tired to fight back. He plans on enslaving the women in our clan, and breeding us out to his men." Mika would not look Raizo in the eye as she spoke, but her voice held steady as she relayed Shigorue's plan. Raizo's could hear a hardness in her voice that had never been there before, and his free hand reached down to pull her up from her knee.

"You do not need to kneel to me Mika. You are my wife." It came out as more of a reprimand then he wanted it to be, but there was unfinished business to attend to. He tilted her neck too look over the bruises trying to not to hurt her with his temper. He would never touch her with anything that was not reverence or love. "Is there more bruising?"

Mika who would not meet his eyes nodded and Raizo looked back at the head. He looked at the blooms of blood that pooled on Rokuro's cheeks, and frowned slightly. He had only seen someone killed this way once. "I see Asami's training was thorough."

The love of his life nodded again her shoulders sagging slightly, and Raizo stepped away from her. "Katsuo, if you will cover the other entrance to the hall please." He turned to Mai and motioned for her to come to him. He didn't want to hurt Mika by saying the wrong thing, so he kept himself busy for the time being. The spritely ninja practically skipped over to him. Raizo placed the head within her hands, and performed a short bow. "Do you accept this head as completion of our vow?"

Mai gave a sunny smile and nodded vigorously. "Yes Ozouno, I accept and grandmother would be honored by such a gift!"

"Good." His gaze lifted to Shigorue who had gone pale with Rage, but if it was because his grandson was dead at the hands of a whore or because his plan fell through Raizo didn't know. He turned to Mika who had not moved from her spot in front of him. He pulled her into his arms and turned her so that she was facing Shigorue. He pulled her in so that her body was flush against his. He took a moment to just breathe her in. He had longed to hold her for so long, and now it was tainted with Rokuro's death. The hand that held his kurisagma lifted her neck to display the bruising. When he finally spoke his voice was very soft against Mika's ear. "Where did he touch you Mika?"

Mika shivered against him, and Raizo regretted that this was neither the time nor the place to take her, but she had one more thing to do before she left this place. "Everywhere your hands have touched me." She hesitated at first, but she found her voice for him, and he appreciated it more then she knew. Because now his conscious was completely clear.

By this time the fighting outside of the room was happening in earnest. News of Rokuro's death seemed to have spread, and the Stone Fox was desperate to either get away or try to save the clan. Even those who were in the room could see the end, and began to circle their patriarch. It was a chess match, and the pawns were trying to protect their king. Unfortunately for them they lacked a queen.

"Well since you have fulfilled my promise to Mai, I guess it's time for you to pick a wedding present!" Raizo was almost giddy with the chance to dismantle the clan, but he wouldn't if she said so. She would be his moral compass today. Their fate rested in those beautiful bruised hands. His nose trailed over her ear, and a soft kiss was placed at her temple. "What would my beautiful bride like right at this moment? I had planned on killing Rokuro and taking you on the nearest flat surface. But that would be rather self-serving, and you've already taken care of the first part. You can have anything you want."

"I want the Stone Fox erased from history." Mika's voice was resolute. She knew as well as he did that they would never stop. They had no choice but to eradicate them, and Raizo would be more than happy to fulfill her every wish, starting with this one.

"Katsuo, Aki, and Hachiro leave no one alive. Mai leave nothing standing." He distantly heard their affirmative, and turned Mika around. He pulled hands to his lips and placed a chaste kiss over each before moving in front of her. "Leave and don't look back."

"Raizo!" Mika was about to take a step forward, and Raizo shook his head. "The clan needs you to talk to the authorities. Trust me to fulfill your wish, and when I return I will erase Rokuro's touch with mine. Now go."

He could almost hear Mika thinking, but in the end she did as she was bid. He was glad of it because he didn't want her to see what was coming next. His gaze met Shigorue's who by this time had taken out a pair of sais. Once he knew she was gone from the room he allowed the chain to fall from his fingers. He moved towards the throne, and his circle tightened around him. "Now that it's just us, I think it's time I showed you what exactly Ozouno saw in me."

The first couple of ninja who came at him must have just wanted quick deaths. They practically threw themselves into his weapon. The rest fought with what honor they could considering their clan was honor less to begin with. He cut down and sliced through each opponent on his way to the throne. Soon there were none left. An explosion rocked the walls, and Shigorue stepped from his platform onto the ground.

"I guess it's karma that a woman was the Achilles heel of the Stone Fox clan." Shigorue began to circle Raizo, and Raizo did the same, looking for weaknesses and openings.

"I guess." Raizo wasn't in the mood to talk. He just wanted to collect his head.

"Lets end this then." Shigorue lifted his weapons and lunged at Raizo.

"Yes, lets."


	5. Epilogue

****A/N this is it everyone! I want to thank you for being with me this long. I appreciate all of your comments, and hopefully one day I'll write something else. Thank you all again!****

Epilogue

Dark clouds began to collect overhead and Mika was worried. In fact she was bordering on quietly descending into madness because Raizo had not come up from the rubble that was once the Stone Fox underground stronghold. She still hated herself for looking into his eyes and agreeing to leave him behind. There was simply no excuse for that sort of stupidity. How dare that man ask her to trust him! Of all the nerve! She was here languishing silently, and trying to keep strong for the clan when all she really wanted to do was ring her hands and fret loudly.

The authorities wanted a plausible story, and Mika spun them one about how a smuggling ring was found due to a gas vein that had blown beneath the ground. Those who crawled out by their stumps were collected and sent directly to "jail" The rest didn't make it out. The other had been serious when carrying out Raizo's orders. He said to leave nothing standing and nothing was left. That included him…

The last of the investigators had sped off glad to be rid of the mess that was left of the street. It would take years for this area to revitalize. She would see to it that the merchants were compensated out of the funds they would collect from the Stone Fox's coffers. They wouldn't need them. Not where they were going at least. The Stone Fox was all but eradicated. There may have been a few out in the field that were on missions, but hey would come back to nothing, and would need to make some harsh decisions about what they would do next. They were more than welcome to come for revenge. They would be waiting on them.

She looked at the others, and they all shrugged. They were worried as well, but Mika was not going to leave until she either saw Raizo or his body. She turned to Mia and shrugged. "I think Raizo put Katuso, Aki, and Hachiro in charge in the event that he doesn't return…"

"Mika don't say that! He might just have gotten hung up!" Mai said the words, but even she looked worried. The first drops of rain started to hit her cheeks, and she looked to the ruins of the dry cleaners with trepidation.

"I agree, but we can't just hang out in the open like this. Head back to the mountain. I'll wait on him here. We still have contracts to fulfill, and the lives of the other ninja's need to go on. I'll figure out something if he doesn't show." Mika was trying to think proactively. She was not ready to give up on Raizo yet. Not ever if she had her way, but the longer it took the harder it made it to be positive about Raizo's fate.

Hachiro walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder before fading into the shadows around them. Soon the others followed suit. They would need to get to the mountain and regroup so that they could see what type of numbers they were dealing with. The fight had not been an easy one. So many were out for blood and with the river of blood she almost had to wade through to get topside it was a wonder any of them survived. Mai unwrapped a pack from her waist and handed it to Mika. It had money and a small dagger inside, and Mika dipped her head in thanks. As always the kunoichi of the Black Sand were superhuman in their ability to anticipate the needs of those around them. Mai hugged Mika and faded out to catch up with the others leaving Mika alone on the street.

Mika stood on the street as the wind began to pick up around her. It was promising to be one hell of a storm, and she needed to move if she wasn't going to get caught in it. A deep sigh filled her lungs, and she made her way to the nearest hotel. Luckily with the damage that was done to the street the hotel was having a half off sale on the rooms. They had no intention of leaving their home, and Mika was glad of it. Once they started distributing the money from the Stone Fox they would become rich. She would make sure that the street prospered. Even if it was her last act as Black Sand member.

She paid for her room and went out and bought enough supplied to last her three days. She would give Raizo a week to pull himself from the rubble and then figure out what to do if he didn't. To be honest Mika didn't have any plans for the future. The last three years of her life had centered on Raizo and Asami's training. The thought of going back home had never even occurred to her. She guessed she could continue to work with the clan as a liaison between them and Interpol, but she wasn't sure if she would even want to if Raizo was not there.

By the time night fell Mika had forced herself to eat, and took a shower. Her body was wrapped in a towel that barely covered her, but she wasn't planning on staying up to do anything more strenuous then brushing her hair. She was truly exhausted, and the only thing that was keeping her up was the hope that Raizo was going to walk through the door. She had left word at the front that if he should show to direct him to her room. She wasn't sure what else she could do but wait, but hopefully by the next morning she would have come up with a plan of action.

Mika looked at the bruises that covered her arms and deep sigh filled her lungs. She was not the same person that left Germany to follow Raizo to Japan. She wasn't even sure that she could fit into her old world any longer. So much had changed for her. She began the process of detangling her curly locks, and suddenly something flickered out of the corner of her eye. She gave no indication that she saw it, and continued to detangle her hair with her fingers. She wasn't sure who would dare this time of night, but did they ever chose the wrong time!

She pretended to go about her nightly routine, as she moved to the pack that Mai had left. She was just about to pull out the dagger when a dead body dropped into the middle of the floor. She barely stifled a scream as another figure walked out of the shadows to wrap his arms around her. Dark eyes drifted closed as she felt the full weight of the arms that she had been waiting for close around her. Mika didn't speak at first. She was so afraid that she was imagining him, and would break whatever spell had been cast for her to see him now. She desperately wanted his touch to be real.

"Did you miss me Mika?" Raizo's soft voice warmed her heart and assuaged every fear she had in the last twenty four hours. His hands slowly began to run along her arms, and he pulled back to look at her. His lips set in a slightly sardonic smile.

"Who was that?" Mika stepped back to give him a withering look before turning around, and moving towards the bed. "Don't start with me. I spent the last ten hours thinking I might not see you again. I'd hate to ruin our reunion with blood shed." She glanced at the body on the ground then looked back up at him. "This is a very déjà vu moment, I must say."

"Looks like a member of the Stone Fox who escaped." Raizo let out a soft laugh, and began collecting their dead friend from the floor. Mika wasn't sure how he planned on disposing of the body, and she didn't care. She just wanted him to do it quickly. She had questions, and she expected answers. She watched him walk out of the door, and this time the wait didn't hurt so badly. She knew he was coming back. She was just debating on telling the clan about Raizo being alive when he walked in. He looked as tired as she felt earlier, and suddenly felt guilty for wanting to bombard him with questions.

Raizo wordlessly moved to the bathroom, and closed the door. She heard running water, and Mika took that time to cover her arms. She didn't have anything to hide the bruises on her neck, but a quick turn of the lamp switch and the room was plunged in darkness. She moved under the blankets, and it wasn't long before Raizo came out wrapped in his own towel filling the room with dim light. He looked at the dark room in surprise, but once his eyes adjusted he immediately sought her presence.

Mika for her part had to bite her lip before she made any noises that would make her appear thirsty. This was hard because she was practically parched. The way the water slid down his chest and the light bounced across his golden skin. She practically eye raped him all the way to the bed, and felt no shame in doing so. He belonged to her, and she was going to get to spend the rest of her life showing him.

"Mika, if you continue to watch me that way you'll make me blush." Raizo crawled into bed, and immediately wrapped his arms around her. It was like his body had been waiting on her's because his impressive muscles instantly relaxed once he had settled next to her.

"I can't help it, you're beautiful! What I am I supposed to do?" Mika grumbled into his chest, and gently turned around in a huff. It felt like everyone one of her dreams had come true. "I need to contact the Black Sand, and tell them that you are all right."

Mika made a motion as if she was going to move, but Raizo caught her, before she lifted from the bed. "Do not tell them yet. They will be fine for one night without us. In fact they could deal without us for many nights without us being there."

"Raizo… What are you saying?" Mika turned back around, her limbs tangling with his, and Raizo began to run his fingers through her damp strands.

Raizo looked off for a moment before taking a deep breath. "For three years you gave up everything for me Mika. Your life, your career, and your friends were all put on hold for me."

"Raizo, I...?"

"Even after all of this, are you not tired of the darkness?" Raizo's hands stilled, and this time his gaze met her's straight on. "Have you not been hurt enough?"

Mika gaped at him for a minute, and then it was her turn to take a deep breath steady her nerves. "If you think that we went through all of this just for me to pack up and lose you now, you are highly mistaken!"

"I would come with you."

Mika was caught by surprise yet again, and this time she was silent. Had she dreamed of spending weekends going to the mall and doing regular couple things? Sure. Going on picnics, catching movies and eating ice cream cones on lazy Sunday afternoons? Yes, of course she had. It would be a lie to say that she hadn't, but that wasn't who they were as a couple. That life was not in the cards for them, and Raizo would be miserable leaving his clan in such a way. "Raizo, where is this coming from?"

Raizo's fingers slowly began to stroke along her kin, the tips of each digit tracing an area where a bruise marred her skin. "Mika you couldn't even look me in the eye after you quite justifiably killed Rokuro. Even now you're hiding your bruises from me, so that I can't see them."

Her tongue danced across her lips, and not for the first time did she curse her fate to be in love with an overly observant man. "I was ashamed because I couldn't stop him. I love you, and I love my life with you. I would never trade it for anything!"

"Mika you could have a normal schedule and a normal life again. Maslow…"

"Is that where you have been?" Mika cut him off angrily, and sat up in bed. She wasn't sure he could see her glaring at him, but she was sure the lack of warmth in her voice told the story her facial expressions could not. "You left me on the street worrying about you, so you could decide the course of the rest of my life… with Maslow of all people!"

"Mika…"

"No, you listen to me! You and I are a package deal. Where you go I go. If we are going to be with your clan for a while so be it. If we decide to retire to London then fine, but whatever we do, WE will decide on it together!" Mika turned away from him again, and prepared to go to sleep on her anger. He was speaking nonsense, and needed to sleep.

Mika was just about done with the ninja beside her, so it wasn't a surprise when she was caught off guard and turned over onto her back. "Ten years."

She gasped and vainly tried to forestall Raizo removing her clothing. "What?" Raizo removed her shirt, and tossed it over his head. The pads of his fingers stroking along the newly bared skin. "Raizo, ten years for what?"

Raizo's hands continued their exploration of the bruises over her skin, and this time with his lips. "Ten years, if you give me ten more years with the clan, we can leave, and I will do whatever it is that normal people do for the rest of our lives. I will leave with no regrets, and we can move next door to Maslow, so that I can rub in his face how amazing I look in a sweater vest."

A soft hum escaped her lips, as hands brushed along a particular sensitive part of her body. She squirmed and pulled him down into the kiss that she had been waiting for forever. She broke the kiss with a laugh, and a slow shake of her head. "You're petty."

"Maybe, but do you disagree?" In emphasis Raizo took her hands and slid them from his shoulders all the way to his waist. Mika had no arguments to bring forth, so she began her own explorative mission over his body. It was also the chance she hadn't had earlier to see if he was hurt. "Mika, if you don't focus I'll have to punish you."

"I just want to make sure that you're okay! Can't I make sure that the man I love is fine?" Mika was finding it very hard to concentrate with the way his hands continue drift lower along her skin. It was making her lose track of what they were talking about. "Raizo, I can't think with your doing that!"

He leaned over, and the tip of his tongue brushed along the column of her neck before turning into little nibbles that ended at her shoulder. A soft kiss was placed just below her hear, before warm air brushed against hear earlobe in a soft whisper. "Stop thinking."

"If you insist, but we will talk about this later." Mika was more than ready to give in. Her tongue trailed across one his older scars, and Raizo pinned her to the bed with a shake of his head. Mika huffed in frustration, as he was making it really hard to seduce him. "I'm trying to seduce you and you have me pinned down."

He took her small hand brought it down between them to curl around him. "As you can see there is no need, I'm ready." The tips of his fingers slid deep inside of her pulling a low moan from her lips. He brought the damp digits to his lips to suck away the taste of her. "You however are not. So I'm going to take care of you first."

Mika began to see Stars as his head dipped to replace his fingers. "I…L.. guess we can call the clan tomorrow…." Mika hedged still trying to be good despite the delicious corruption that Raizo was causing with his tongue. "Ohhh, or…or not."

Raizo chuckled but did not stop his ministrations over Mika's person. "Mmm-mmmm"

They spent long lazy hours making love, and by the end of the night Mika had agreed to most of the terms that Raizo had put forth. There would be no teasing Maslow, but there would be plenty of love and laughter. They spent ten years building and the Black Sand up, but there were those who didn't want to lose Raizo. However, that's a story for another time.

The end


End file.
